Hotel Elephant | Weimar

Weimar's front parlour

The hotel "Elephant Weimar" on Weimar's market square is an institution. It has stood for art and culture ever since it opened in 1696. Which is absolutely in keeping with that town so closely associated with so many famous Germans, Weimar.

Something is softly whirring in the long hotel lounge with high ceilings and a frosted glass roof. What the guests can hear is the sound of an old film projector that is projecting a black and white silent film onto the screen on the other wall. All of this is perfectly normal in the hotel "Elephant Weimar", which is over 300 years old: Its "Lichtsaal" is regularly used for in-house cultural events. The programme is compiled by the hotel's own cultural programme manager. Not only the hotel's guests value the concerts, readings, plays or panel discussions, but also the citizens of Weimar. Everyone simply loves getting together at the "Elephant" to escape everyday life for a moment and enjoy the good things in life. "Art, literature, music and architecture as well as design are the pillars the hotel concept rests on, which we continue to integrate," confirms Kerstin Usung, the "Elephant Weimar" hotel's marketing and PR manager. These themes are nothing new at the long-established hotel: Ever since the hotel on Weimar's market square opened in 1696, famous personalities from the art and culture world have stayed here. Schiller celebrated glittering premieres of his plays here, Goethe his 80th birthday. Thomas Mann was also a guest later on, and – on the occasion of the founding of the Bauhaus in Weimar – Lyonel Feininger, Walter Gropius and Oskar Schlemmer spent the night at the hotel "Elephant". All of these cultural heavyweights left their mark, as the generous number of paintings on the walls and the hotel's well-stocked book shelves show. This still applies even after its most recent refurbishment. "It was extremely important to us to preserve the building's soul," emphasises Kerstin Usung.

The heart of the hotel is the redesigned "Lichtsaal", which has welcomed guests and locals alike since the hotel's reopening in 2018 and is an inviting mix of library, music room and lounge. Grouped modern designer furniture seating tempts you to relax for a few minutes. The rest of the hotel also sensitively combines the historic bones of the building and its architectural history with contemporary design. Shiny velvet meets warm wood and matt bronze shades. Works of art from a wide range of different periods hang on the walls, and the corridors are decorated with sculptures by international artists. Due to the differing floor plans, almost no room is similar to the next – they range from a timelessly elegant suite to a cosy attic room.

The hotel "Elephant Weimar" not only offers its guests the chance to enjoy art and sophisticated entertainment but also delicious food: In the in-house restaurant AnnA, the kitchen team headed by Johannes Wallner serves haute cuisine level regional dishes.

Either way, the wonderful spirit of Weimar is always present: On the terrace, in the idyllic garden oasis with an arcade walkway, a fountain and an ivy elephant, or on the patio on the market side of the building, where you can sit right in the middle of Weimar's old town centre, enjoy the views of the historic buildings that surround the market square, and listen to the clatter of the countless pairs of shoes walking across the cobblestones of the ancient town and cultural centre of Weimar.

What you can experience in the region

The Feininger cycling route

On this 30 kilometre tour, you follow the trail of the painter Lyonel Feininger, who was one of the first masters at the Weimar Bauhaus. The route leads past his family home and many of his favourite motifs.

More about The Feininger cycling route

Headerfoto: ©Matthias Hamel, Marriott International Inc.

Foto Infobox: ©Michael Kremer, Thüringer Tourismus GmbH